Vince Vaughn to receive John Cassavetes Award

The 35th Starz Denver Film Festival (SDFF), presented by Starz and produced by the Denver Film Society, today announced that Vince Vaughn will receive the 2012 John Cassavetes Award. SDFF will run November 1 through November 11 in Denver.

The John Cassavetes Award, established in 1989 in collaboration with his widow Gena Rowlands, is presented annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the world of filmmaking and whose work reflects the spirit of the late John Cassavetes. The award was first presented to Steven Soderbergh, with recent recipients including Sean Penn, William H. Macy, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman, JK Simmons, Elliott Gould and Judy Greer

“Since Vince Vaughn burst on to the indie film scene in 1996 as the charismatic, wise-guy, Trent, in the break-out hit Swingers, we’ve closely watched his star rise,” said Festival Director, Britta Erickson, “Much to the delight of our audiences, he’s graced our big screen at sold-out Film on the Rocks events featuring Old School and Wedding Crashers. Behind the scenes, Vince’s star shines equally bright as a writer and a powerful producer making him a tenacious Hollywood triple-threat. We are honored to present him with the Cassavetes Award in conjunction with showcasing one of his documentary producing efforts – which he also narrates – Art of Conflict, directed by his sister, Valeri Vaughn.”

The John Cassavetes Award presentation will take place on Saturday, November 10 at the Art of Conflict screening at L2 Arts & Culture Center. Immediately following, Denver Post film critic Lisa Kennedy will go one-on-one with Vince and Valeri Vaughn, continued by an audience Q&A. Attendees will have a rare opportunity to hear directly from the charming actor/producer/writer

Tippi Hedren will be presented with the 2012 Mayor’s Award for Career Achievement on November 9 at the Watching Hour screening of her classic thriller The Birds. Hedren, who has been recently portrayed by Sienna Miller in the HBO production, The Girl, has appeared in nearly 50 films, including the new feature Free Samples which will screen at this year’s Festival.

“We’re honored and delighted to be presenting Tippi Hedren with the Mayor’s Career Achievement Award,” said Artistic Director, Brit Withey. “Having her in person with such a seminal film in which her performance is unforgettable is truly a treat.”

Andrea Riseborough will be honored with the 2012 Excellence in Acting Award at a special presentation screening of James Marsh’s Shadow Dancer. Riseborough, most well known for her role as Wallis Simpson in W.E., a film directed by Madonna, gives a stunning performance in Shadow Dancer as Colette McVeigh, an active member of the IRA who becomes an informant for MI5 in order to protect her son’s welfare.

New Zealand stunt double and actress Zoe Bell will receive the 2012 Rising Star Award during a special presentation of Death Proof on November 3. Best known as Uma Thurman’s stunt double in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, that career highlight followed earlier stunt work on many television shows, including Xena: Warrior Princess (doubling for Lucy Lawless). Beginning with an acting turn in Tarantino’s Death Proof which showcased not only her charm but her stunt ability, Bell has been cast in a steady stream of roles that have taken her into an exciting new direction of balancing acting and intense stunt work.

Actor Bob Balaban will receive the Festival’s first annual Jack Gilford Award for Comedy following a clips program highlighting his career on Saturday, November 3. Balaban who worked with the venerable Gilford in Catch-22, is a veteran of Christopher Guest comedies (Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration), and also has acted in such films as Capote and the iconic Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which the festival will screen as part of the movie’s 35th anniversary celebration.

Stacey Steers will be presented the 2012 Stan Brakhage Vision Award by Phil Solomon on Sunday, November 4. Following upon the screening of several of her labor-intensive animated films, including Watunna, Totum, and Phantom Canyon, her stunningly beautiful and hauntingly surreal new film, Night Hunter, will anchor the evening.

Mijke de Jong will be honored with a three-film tribute and appear in person with Katia’s Sister, Stages, and her latest work, Believing, a provocative portrait of a mother and daughter adjusting to a society in transition and turmoil. Mijke de Jong’s idiosyncratic and through-provoking films have won various awards abroad.

A three-film tribute will be presented to Daniel Burman as part of the Festival’s Focus on Argentine Cinema, including All In (2012), Family Law (2006), and Lost Embrace (2004). Daniel Burman, one of the founding members of the New Argentine Cinema Wave, has had numerous films screen theatrically in U.S. theaters over the last decade.

milkhaus, a Colorado storytelling firm that has received an Academy Award and dozens of Emmy Awards, will be honored on November 10. Numerous SDFF sponsor reels which have screened prior to our red carpet events that will be shown as well as new films Bay of All Saints directed by Annie Eastman, The Life and Times of Paul the Psychic Octopus directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, and the Academy Award winning short documentary Saving Face directed by Daniel Junge.

To keep up to date with the Starz Denver Film Festival, visit www.denverfilm.org/festival, like the SDFF Facebook page www.facebook.com/denverfilmfestival, follow @DenverFilm on Twitter, and join the conversation by using the #SDFF35 hashtag.

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